Gary Neville is still puzzled by Manchester United’s transfer priorities and believes the club are leaving themselves open to the same problems later in the season.
United have spent heavily again this summer. Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba have all been brought in to improve the midfield, while around £170 million was spent on attackers last year.
For Neville, though, there is one obvious part of the squad that still needs work.
The defence.
Gary Neville surprised by United’s defensive plans
Speaking to Sky Sports, the former United captain said he believes Michael Carrick would probably have liked to rebuild more than one area this summer.
“In a perfect world, if you’d said to Michael Carrick, ‘what would you have done this summer?’ he would have said, ‘rebuild the midfield, and I would rebuild the defence’,” Gary Neville said.
He does understand why United haven’t tried to change everything at once. There has already been plenty of movement in the squad, and Neville thinks tackling the rebuild in stages could be the sensible approach.
“They’re doing it piece by piece. That might be the sensible thing to do, to not overhaul everything at once.”
But he still doesn’t think the current defence is strong enough.
“They have got some individually decent defenders, but there isn’t a back four there and when it starts to get put under pressure and it starts to pick up a couple of injuries during the season, it will let you down.”
That concern became obvious during United’s opening game of the season. Hull City scored twice in a 2-0 win, and the result brought another round of questions about the players Carrick has available at the back. Ipswich’s second goal, where Lisandro Martinez lost the ball under pressure to Enciso, is another example.
Gary Neville doesn’t believe those concerns will disappear once Manchester United start playing in Europe.
Manchester United still searching for a left-back
The former Manchester United defender thinks at least two additions are needed before the transfer window closes.
“If they could get a centre-back and a full-back before the window closes, that will stop problems that we know we’re going to see.”
He isn’t claiming the defenders have been poor in every game. His argument is that the squad doesn’t have enough depth or reliability when the level rises.
“I’m not saying they’ve been bad all the time, but you just know full well, in Champions League football, Premier League games, they will have problems and they will have issues. It’s not being harsh. Everybody knows it.”
Manchester United are still considering their options at left-back. They have asked about Aston Villa’s Ian Maatsen, although he is now expected to be offered a new deal.
Lewis Hall has also been on United’s radar for some time, but Newcastle have made their position clear and continue to insist that he isn’t for sale.
That leaves Carrick with Luke Shaw as his only senior natural left-back. Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot can cover there, but both are right-backs naturally. Harry Amass is the other left-back option, although he is expected to leave, most likely on loan.
Manchester United have spent money on strengthening their forward line. They have spent again in midfield. But the defence is still waiting for the same level of attention.
With Tuesday’s deadline approaching, Carrick and the United board have one final decision to make. Ignore the issue and hope the current group stays fit, or bring in players now and avoid a problem that Gary Neville believes is coming anyway.
